Gillingham, Norfolk
| Gillingham | |
| Norfolk | |
|---|---|
 St Mary's church, Gillingham | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | TM411920 |
| Location: | 52°28’22"N, 1°32’56"E |
| Data | |
| Population: | 697 (2021) |
| Post town: | Beccles |
| Postcode: | NR34 |
| Dialling code: | 01502 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | South Norfolk |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South Norfolk |
Gillingham (pronounced with a hard-G) is a small village in Norfolk, found a mile and a half north-west of Beccles and fifteen miles south-east of Norwich, along the A146.
The village's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for the homestead or village of Gylla's people.[1]
The 2021 census recorded Gillingham's population as 697.
History
In the Domesday Book, Gillingham is listed as a settlement of 34 households. In 1086, the village formed part of the East Anglian estates of The King.[2]
The parish contains two villages that were abandoned in the fourteenth century due to the ravages of the Black Death: Winston and Wyndale.[3][4]
Gillingham Hall is located within the parish and was built in the early-sixteenth century as a residence for Sir Nicholas Bacon. Today, the hall is owned by Edward Haughey.[5]
On the night of the 6th and 7 November 1943, a Dornier 17 light bomber crashed in the village after being shot down by anti-aircraft fire whilst on a bombing raid of Norwich. Only one of the crew survived and attempts at excavation of the site were made by the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum during the 1970s.[6]
On 13 March 2014, a helicopter crashed shortly after take-off from Gillingham Hall, killing all four people on board, including Edward Haughey, Baron Ballyedmond, the owner of Gillingham Hall.[7]
St. Mary's Church
Gillingham's parish church, St Mary's, dates from the twelfth century but was largely rebuilt in the mid-nineteenth century by Thomas Penrice. It is a Grade I listed building.[8]
The church is on Church Road.
About the village
St. Michael's Church of England Primary School is located within the village and is part of the Diocese of Norwich Education Trust.
The village also has a playground, allotments and a village hall.
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Gillingham, Norfolk) |
References
- ↑ Gillingham: Key to English Place-names
- ↑ Gillingham, Norfolk in the Domesday Book
- ↑ "mnf10732 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf10732.
- ↑ "mnf10733 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf10733.
- ↑ "mnf10738 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf10738.
- ↑ "mnf18065 - Norfolk Heritage Explorer". https://www.heritage.norfolk.gov.uk/record-details?mnf18065.
- ↑ "Norfolk helicopter crash leaves four dead" (in en-GB). BBC News. 2014-03-13. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-norfolk-26572122.
- ↑ National Heritage List 1050580: Church Of St Mary (Grade I listing)